Leigh Normandin

LoveLeigh Creations

Hi, my name is Leigh. I moved to Southern Oregon in 2020 and immediately fell in love with the area. I have a small studio at my home in the Applegate Valley where I enjoy spending my time throwing one of a kind, utilitarian pots on my kick wheel. I grew up in Arizona and have a deep love and appreciation for the desert. I attended college at Northern Arizona University where my passion for pottery blossomed and finished with an art education degree in 2011. NAU has an amazing ceramics program with many different types of kilns and just about any materials a potter could dream of. After college I spent time in Mendocino county teaching 6th-12th grade art. I quickly realized teaching was not for me but continued making pottery on my kick wheel and firing in my propane kiln on a friends property. I moved often between Mendocino, Sonoma, and Marin counties. When a pottery studio was not available to me I would find other things to create such as brick stitch earrings, wearable leather items, or hand painted sunglasses. Starting in 2014 I befriended a group of tie dye artists and spent 6 years learning to tie dye and traveling to music festivals to set up backdrops for bands and selling tie dye and hand painted sunglasses. I got to see Dead and Co many times and my love for the Grateful Dead grew tremendously. During that time I would find open pottery studios in the town I was living in to continue my love for making pots. When I moved to Oregon, my kick wheel was one piece of “furniture” I still owned and had lugged it around with me for 10 years moving multiple times. Once in Oregon, I bought a home with my sister in the Applegate valley and purchased an electric kiln. Most of my time is spent making pottery, running, hiking, and farming with my dog and my partner, Patrick who owns Red Buttes Farm. While I’m still discovering my style, I draw a lot of inspiration from the bright colors of the desert sunsets and alpine lakes. I’m thrilled to be a part of the potting community in Southern Oregon and am currently selling my work at the Tuesday Ashland farmers market and other small local store fronts.

Contact:

Email: leighfrances88@gmail.com | Phone: 480-403-1413 | Instagram

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